Brexit: EU workers will be offered visas to combat shortage

Two-year visas are already available to low-skilled workers from outside of the EUGETTY IMAGES

Theresa May will offer EU migrants under the age of 30 two-year working visas to help to plug a shortage of low-skilled workers after Brexit.

The prime minister is committed to making EU citizens subject to the same controls as those from outside the bloc when freedom of movement ends.

She is resisting pressure from business leaders, backed by Philip Hammond, the chancellor, and Greg Clark, the business secretary, to delay the rules beyond 2020 to allow time to adjust.

Mrs May’s allies say she believes that unless businesses are forced to adapt by increasing wages and training more Britons, they will continue to rely on low-skilled migration from the EU. In a concession, however, Mrs May will offer EU countries two-year employment visas for…

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